Search engine optimization (SEO) is a complicated strategy with many moving parts, made even more complicated by the fact that Google doesn’t publish the true nature or exact mechanisms of its ranking algorithm. Instead, we rely on a number of “best practices” and fundamentals we’ve learned to be successful through trial and error and collaboration over the years. Some of these fundamentals are more obvious than others, and some marketers jump straight into the game with ongoing strategies like content marketing and offsite optimization without making sure all these foundational best practices are in place.

Every company is investing in content, but very few are maximizing their investment by developing content that their audiences genuinely enjoy. Can you confidently claim that your content resonates with your audience? Or are you merely creating the content you selfishly want to publish? Let’s take a closer look at this issue and how you can develop customer-centric content.

Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. It means that a search algorithm is intended to help users get the best possible search experience. That is why bots that are machines learn to understand humans.Continue Reading >>

Digital marketing is a field where things are constantly changing and evolving. From one year to the next, countless trends emerge and fade. As marketers, our job is to stay on top of these shifts and place ourselves ahead of the curve. How do we achieve that? By looking ahead and making those changes right now.

Today we’re looking at five major changes coming down the pipeline for digital marketers. These changes have already begun, and while some of them will require work, they shouldn’t be ignored.

Those who run a local business, or provide SEO services for small business owners, now have a competitive edge over national brands, because the latter don’t have physical locations in cities where most of their customers reside. Local businesses can have the icing on the cake by grabbing the coveted real estate on the first page of local SERPs.

According to the Google research study “Understanding Consumers’ Local Search Behavior”, 4 of 5 consumers use search engines to find local information. Moreover, local-based searches lead to more conversions than non-local searches. But there is a flipside for the local market players, which is that there are constant changes and updates of the Google local search patterns.Continue Reading >>